Every year, I design what ends up being a 6-cd best-of-the-previous-year mix. I have several friends who want all six, another several who like to receive samplings therefrom. I design one set in February, another in August or so (giving me further time to explore, as I don’t assume I’ll discover all my favorite music in the calendar year it happens to be released in). I’m told, and choose to believe, that I’m very good with track-to-track flow, so in this era of things like Spotify and Rhapsody playlists, I figured I might as well share with you the first three tracklists for 2012 in case you want copies (if I know you) or just were curious and wanted to play with these a bit.

I chose to let them be dominated by my 50 Favorite Albums list; the subsequent set, obviously, will not be. All mix titles are lyrics from somewhere on the mix.

Food for Thought is a Good Trade

  1. Decomposure, Readymade
  2. Animal Collective, Pulleys
  3. Paul Weller, That Dangerous Age
  4. Delta Spirit, Money Saves
  5. Winter Sounds, Everything Wounded Comes Home to Die
  6. Agony Family, I Stop Clocks
  7. Jon Lindsay, Tiny Violins
  8. Profusion, Chuta Chani
  9. Amanda Palmer, Melody Dean
  10. Jukebox the Ghost, At Last
  11. Bryan Scary, Faintness Moody: Outlaw
  12. Verlaines, Pets
  13. Mike Keneally w/Andy Partridge, You Kill Me
  14. Rudi Zygadlo, the Domino Quivers
  15. Lost Lander, Belly of the Bird / Valentina
  16. Birdeatsbaby, Love Will Bring You Nothing
  17. dEUS, Constant Now
  18. Stew & the Negro Problem, Black Men Ski
  19. Pepe Deluxe, Go Supersonic
  20. the Very Best, We OK

Manifesting a Metropolis

  1. Rush, Brought Up to Believe
  2. Mars Volta, the Whip Hand
  3. Bastards of Fate, Huge Magic
  4. Of Montreal, Spiteful Intervention
  5. THEESatisfaction, Enchantruss
  6. Holobody, Hurricane Season
  7. Justinus Primitive, City Dervish
  8. Mawwal, No Finer Men than We
  9. Jesca Hoop, Peacemaker
  10. Carina Round, Girl and the Ghost
  11. Yakuza, Lotus Array
  12. Jonny Polonsky, See Your Lies
  13. Sigh, Purgatorium
  14. Propagandhi, Things I Like
  15. Serj Tankian, Ching Chime
  16. Thinking Plague, Sleeper Cell Anthem
  17. Gemma Ray, Bring Ring Ring Yeah
  18. Regina Lund, Return
  19. Aesop Rock, Gopher Guts

This Monkey Who’s Just Curious

  1. Dirty Projectors, Offspring are Blank
  2. District 97, Who Cares?
  3. Debo Band, Habesha
  4. Surplus 1980, M.E.S. Shoe Contract
  5. BBU, Beau Sia
  6. Killer Mike, Reagan
  7. Extra Life, Righteous Seed
  8. Fiona Apple, Left Alone
  9. Kyle Hambor, So I Said to Her
  10. glenn mcdonald, the Rules That Govern Hearts
  11. Kate Miller-Heidke, Ride This Feeling
  12. Passion Pit, I’ll Be Alright
  13. Beth Jeans Houghton, Nightswimmer
  14. Squonk Opera, Shimmy and Shake
  15. Ani DiFranco, Which Side are You On?
  16. Mountain Goats, Amy a.k.a. Spent Gladiator 1
  17. BidiniBand, Last of the Dead Wrong Things
  18. Dar Williams, I am the One Who Will Remember Everything
  19. Regina Spektor, the Party

LATE EDIT: glenn mcdonald has created an online playlist from this. It contains only 47 of the 58 tracks – his own song is among the 11 missing – which means there’s a few bizarre segues. Nonetheless, I’m happy: that was super-thoughtful of him. Enjoy!

– Brian Block